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F/A-18C Hornet
Background The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) F/A-18 Hornet is a twin-engine supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable multirole combat jet, designed to dogfight and attack ground targets (F/A designation for Fighter/Attack). Designed by McDonnell Douglas and Northrop, the F/A-18 was derived from the latter's YF-17 in the 1970s for use by the United States Navy and Marine Corps. The Hornet is also used by the air forces of several other nations. The U.S. Navy's Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels has used the Hornet since 1986. The F/A-18 has a top speed of Mach 1.8 (1,190 mph or 1,915 km/h at 40,000 ft or 12,190 m). It can carry a wide variety of bombs and missiles, including air-to-air and air-to-ground, supplemented by the 20 mm M61 Vulcan cannon. It is powered by two General Electric F404 turbofan engines, which give the aircraft a high thrust-to-weight ratio. The F/A-18 has excellent aerodynamic characteristics, primarily attributed to its leading edge extensions (LEX). The fighter's primary missions are fighter escort, fleet air defense, Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD), air interdiction, close air support and aerial reconnaissance. Its versatility and reliability have proven it to be a valuable carrier asset, though it has been criticized for its lack of range and payload compared to its earlier contemporaries, such as the Grumman F-14 Tomcat in the fighter and strike fighter role, and the Grumman A-6 Intruder and LTV A-7 Corsair II in the attack role. The F/A-18 Hornet provided the baseline design for the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, a larger, evolutionary redesign of the F/A-18. Compared to the Hornet, the Super Hornet is larger, is heavier, and has improved range and payload. The F/A-18E/F was originally proposed as an alternative to an all-new aircraft to replace existing dedicated attack aircraft such as the A-6. The larger variant was also directed to replace the aging F-14 Tomcat, thus serving a complementary role with Hornets in the U.S. Navy, and serving a wider range of roles including refueling tanker. The Boeing EA-18G Growler electronic jamming platform was also developed from the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. Model Type - F/A-18C Class - Multi-role Fighter Crew - 1 SDC By Location Nose/Cockpit 200 Main Body/fuselage 520 Wings (2) 200 ea Tailplanes (2) 140 ea Engines (2) 280 ea AR - 11 (vehicle AR) Armour - Stops upto and including 22cal pistol rounds. Explosive and ramjet rounds are still effective. Speed Flying - Mach 1.8 at high altitude, mach 1.2 at low altitude Range - Combat Radius 540km Altitude - 15000m (50000ft) Statistics Height - 4.7m Length - 17.1m Width - 12.3m Weight - 23.4 tons maximum, 11.2 tons empty Cargo - Minimal survival gear Power System - 2× General Electric F404-GE-402 turbofans Cost - 29 million dollars US Weapons Weapon Type - 20mm Vulcan cannon Primary Purpose - Anti-fighter Range - 1200m Damage - 6d6x10sdc per burst Rate Of Fire - equal to pilots attacks Payload - 27 bursts Bonuses - NA Weapon Type - Hardpoints (9, 2 per wingtip, 2 per wing, 3 fuselage) Primary Purpose - Anti-fighter, anti-installation Range - As per missile type Damage - As per missile type Rate Of Fire - 1 at a time equal to pilot attacks Payload - Wingtips each have 1 light HE air to air missile or 1 HE air to air missile. All other hardpoints carry: 1 light HE air to air missile or 1 HE air to air missile or 1 HE air to ground missile or 1 HE bomb or 1 Heavy HE bomb or 1 HE cluster bomb or 2 Light HE bombs Bonuses - na bonuses and penalities use vehicle combat training and combat flying if applicable +1 attack at level 7 +1 dodge at level 6 and 12 +5% piloting rolls Systems of Note Radar - Range of 200 miles (370km). Able to track upto 24 targets, display 18 targets and lock onto 6 targets at once. Radar Warning Receiver - Warns of potential Radar Lock. Range - 200 miles ECM Pod - -20% penalty to opposing radar/sensor operators to detect the F-14 Chaff/Flare Dispensers - 75% to cause locked on missiles to lose lock and fly off elsewhere. Targeting Computer - +1 to strike with all on board weapon systems Combat Computer - Identifies Friend or Foe and is tied to the radar System. Low Altitude Navigation and Targeting Infrared for Night (LANTIRN) - For dropping laser guided munitions. +1 to strike with said munitions. FLIR - Advanced forward looking infa-red system for night operations GPS/Inertial Navigation System. Communications - Range 500km, can boosted via satellite relay. Ejection Systems - Ejects Pilot and Radar Officer from damaged aircraft. References Used Wikipedia